Container for fragile articles



March 12, 1935. s. L. RICHMOND CONTAINER FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed May 12, 1935 11v Vg/v TOR fikotye LEM/i nd %z'& A TTORNE y Patented Mar. 12, 1 935 UNITED STATES- invention relates to containers for fragile articles suchas eggs 'or'the'like. s

" An object of the invention is to provide a generally'. improved and more satisfactory container -5 of this character, and especially one which can be manufactured at slight expense and yet which will give adequate: cushioning support to eggs or otherfragile articles so that the possibility of breakage in handling is greatly reduced.

10' Another objectis the provision of such a container so designed and constructed that it'may be erected into normal operative condition vor collapsed substantially into flat conditionJ A further object is the provision of such a conl5 tain'er so designed and constructed that it may be readily manufactured by existing machinery Without the necessity of 1 making expensive changes in standard carton making machines. To these and other'ends the invention resides 30 in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel featuresbeing pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification. In the drawing: '1 I y 25 Fig. 1 is a plan of a carton constructed in accordance with'the preferred embodiment of the invention, showing it in erected position with the cover thrown back to illustrate the interior con struction; I r w Fig, 2 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the structure ofFigi 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken transversely through the structure-of Fig. 1; 1 r I Fig. i-is an elevation of one of the transverse partitions used in the fillerfl Fig. 5 is an elevation of the cushioning or support inernber used 'in the filler, detached from the other parts, and o 40 'Figzfi'is' an elevation of a irag ment'of the filler in collapsed position. I

The same reference numerals throughout the- "several 'viewsindicate the same parts. I v I The, carton of ,the present invention is in'- 45 tendedprimarily for 'holdingeggs, although itis to be understood that itrisuapplicable also to holding other fragile articles such, for example, aselectric light bulbs, Christmas-treeornaments,

and the like.

59 According to the present invention there is provided a two-part construction embodying a body capable of being collapsed into substantial- I 1y fiat form or erected to'forrn a'hollow structure, and a filler pla'ceable in the body when the lat- 51 ter is erected, this filler also being collapsible or shape of compartments;

into'substantiallyfflat'fonn when itis removed f om the'body." The bodylmayxbe of anysuitablekno'wn con.- struction; madeszu's'uallyof cardboard or'thelike so formedzas to provide afrontwall 10', a bottom 11,. a rear Wall112,end; walls '13, a cover 14; and a coverflap 15 adapted to b'thrust downwardly Just inside the front wall "whenuthe' box is CIOSGi 'I'lfiS box bodynmay be collapsed in any suitablegknown-manner. 5 :i: I

, V V herLtl ie vbodylis: erected to its normal operative position; arr erected filler-may beplaced in it; which filler apreferablyi comprises a plurality of longitudinal-"-partitions and a; plurality of transverse partitions capable of being collapsed (when they filler is; removed from 'the'body) by swinging the partitions relatively to ea'chother about their intersections-fin known manner. -.The

shape and size of theib'ody' may be" varied as desired,.and any idesirednumber of partitions may be employed to make any. desired --number,, size,

' :In thepreferredembodiment, the carton is intended tohold'a dozen eggs arranged in two rows of s'ix eg s each, and -consequently the filler is preferably 'made up of three longitudinal part1 lions-"21; 22-, and'23 and seven transverse 'parti-. tions each indicated by the numeral 25. It will b'e'noted that; as well understood by those skilled inthe art, the longitudinal partitions 21, 22', and I 23 occupy when in normal position substantially vertical planes which "are arranged. substantially parallel'to each othenand theft'ransverse partitions 25' likewise occupy substantially vertical parallel"planesfextendingtransversely to andintersecting the -planes of-the longitudinal parti-. 13 111": i

The partitionsare slotted in any suitable known 'manner attheir intersections so that they may extend-through each other." That is, 'for'example, the transverse partitions 25, as shown in 4, may'have vertical slots28 extending from their bottoms approximately half way up toward I their tops,'- through.whi'ch thelower parts of the longitudinal partitions extend, andthe longitudifinal partitions'may have slots extending downwardlyapproximatelyhalf way'from their upper edges; in the planesof the transverse partitions, through which theupper parts ofthe transverse 'pa'rtion'smay-extend. 'The slots in th'e longitudinal partitions may also be" provided atone edge withlockinglu'gs 29 (Fig.- 6) adapted toengage in known manner-in holes 30 in the trans- "verse partitions to lock the partitions to each other against: accidental vertical displacement;

tions are formed) set edgewise substantially in the center of each compartment and presenting an upper edge on which the fragile article in that compartment may rest. Preferably alsothis upper edge is shaped to conform at least approximately to the shape of the contacting part ofthe fragile article.

In the preferred embodiment, the cushioning and supporting meansis formed by two strips of material 35, one extending longitudinally of the filler substantially parallel to and substantially midway between the longitudinal partitions 21 and 22, and the -other cushioning member 35 being similarly located between the longitudinal partitions 22 and 23.

As willbe readily apparent from the drawing, these cushioning members, 35 extend substantially vertical and are thus presented edgewise to the fragile articles placed in the compartments between the intersections of the various partitions, so that the fragile articles rest upon the thin upper edges of the members 35 and are cushioned thereby and heldfrom direct contact with the'bottom 11 of the body.

In order toaccommodate the cushioning and supporting members 35, the transverse partitions25 are provided withjslots 37 extending upwardly from their bottom edgesfor a suflicient distance, approximately midway between the slots 28, and the members 35 have downwardly extending slots 38 in the planes of the transverse partitions. Likewise the member 35 may have at one edge of eachslot38 a locking lug 39 similar to the locking lugs 29 of the longitudinal partitions, for engagement with the bottom edge of a hole 40 appropriately placed in each transverse partition 25, to lock the transverse partitions and the cushioning member against vertical displacement relatively to each other.

Preferably also the upper edge of the member 35 is shaped to conform at least approximately to the contacting part of the fragile article which is intended to rest on the member 35. When the construction is intended for use with eggs,.as in the preferred embodiment, the upper edge of each member 35 may be scalloped or hollowed out between each two transverse partitions as indicated in general at 45, to conform approximatelyto the shape of one end of an egg.

It will be seen that the members 35 are not as high as the partitions, so that theirupper edges are materially below the tops of the compartments formed between the intersections of the various-partitions. Thus a fragile article, such as the-egg indicated by the dotted lines 50 in Fig. 2, may be placed within a compartment and will rest onthe upper edge of the cushioning member 35 within that compartment and be cushioned and supported thereby and held up out of contact with the bottom, 11 of the carton.

The cardboard or similar sheet material from which the cushioning andrsupportin'g members are made has sufiicient give and resiliency even 23, it follows that they will not interfere in any way with the collapsing of the filler but will simply be collapsed between the longitudinal partitions when the transverse partitions are swung around their vertical intersections with the longitudinal partitions and with the members 35. The filler when in a collapsed condition may be easily erected in exactly the same way that the conventional and heretofore known filler is erected, and it is not necessary to pay any special attention whatever to the cushioning member. It is automatically placed in proper position when the filler is erected and it needs no further movementv or attention of any kind.

I claim:

1. A container for fragile articles comprising a plurality of longitudinal partitions'lying substantially in spaced parallel planes when in normal erected position, a series of transverse partitions normally extending across said longitudinal partitions to subdivide the space between them into a plurality of separate compartments for receiving fragile articles, said longitudinal and transverse partitions being hinged to each other at their intersections and capable of being collapsed from said normal positions into substantially flat condition, and a supporting member of sheet material lying when in normal erected'position substantiallyin a'plane parallel to and midway between said spaced parallel planes and presenting an edge on which fragile articles placed in said compartments may rest, said supporting member intersecting said transverse partitions and being hinged thereto about axes substantially parallel to those of the hinge connections between said longitudinal and transverse partitions,-so that said supporting member may maintain its position substantially parallel to said longitudinal partitions during collapsing and erecting movements of said partitions.

2. A container for fragile articles comprising a plurality of longitudinal partitions lying substantially in spaced parallel planes when in normal erected position, a series of transverse partitions normally extending across said longitudinal partitions to subdivide the space between them into a plurality of separate compartments for receiving fragile articles, and a supporting member of sheet material lying when in normal erected position substantially in a plane parallel to and midway between said spaced parallel planes, said supporting member presenting a thin upper edge on which fragile articles placed in said compartments may rest, and said upper edge being shaped to conform approximately to the shapes of the contacting parts of the fragile articles intended to be placed in said compartments.

- 3. A container for fragile articles comprising a body of sheet material collapsible substantially into a flat condition and erectable into a hollow structure, and a filler placeable in and removable from said body when it is erected, said filler embodying a plurality of longitudinal partitions in substantially vertical planes and a plurality of transverse partitions in substantially vertical planes intersecting the planes of the longitudinal partitions and a cushioning member in a substantially vertical plane substantially parallel to certain of said partitions and intersecting others of said partitions, said filler when erected having compartments between said partitions in which fragile articles may be placed to restloosely upon the upper edge of said cushioning member and to be held against lateraldisplacement by contact with the adjacent partitions on either side of the cushioning member on which the article rests,

and said filler being collapsible into substantially flat form by swinging said longitudinal and transverse partitions relatively to each other about their intersections.

4. A container for fragile articles comprising spaced substantially parallel upstanding walls forming sides of a compartment for, holding a fragile article, and a cushioning member of sheet material placed on edge substantially midway between and parallel to said walls, said cushioning member having an upper edge shaped approximately to the shape ofa portion of the surface of a fragile article to be placed in said compartment, to form a seat on which said fragile article may rest, said upstanding walls extending upwardly to elevations materially above said seat and serving as lateral supports for said fragile article to prevent displacement of-said article from its seat in adirection'laterally of said cushioning member.

GEORGE IL. RlCHMOND. 

